Gun Violence Prevention: Looking Back and Looking Forward

“Don’t stop after beating the swords into ploughshares, don’t stop! Go on beating and make musical instruments out of them. Whoever wants to make war again will have to turn them into ploughshares first.” –Yehuda Amichai

Jewish tradition hopes that we will turn our weapons into something beautiful and this past year, gun violence prevention has been at the forefront of debates not only in Washington, but also across the country. But before we can look ahead to 2014 and the progress we can make, we have to look back on the past year.

At the URJ Biennial in San Diego last week, Mindy Finkelstein, a survivor of gun violence and ardent activist with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, spoke eloquently about her experience and the need to take action now. Her remarks can be viewed at here (from 59:50-75:15).

What else has been happening in the world of gun violence prevention advocacy?

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced a merger of the two gun violence prevention advocacy groups.

What we can we do to help create a world with fewer gun deaths and less gun violence in our communities? Our tradition teaches that “It is not incumbent on you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it” (Pirkei Avot 2:21). Here are three things you can do to live up to our tradition:

Tell Congress we still care about expanding meaningful background checks. Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Toomey (R-PA) introduced a bipartisan plan to greatly expand background checks. This same plan was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen King (R-NY) and Thompson (D-CA). Although the proposal did not cover all gun sales, it promised to close dangerous loopholes that exempt gun shows and online sales from background checks. While it did not pass earlier this year, we must thank our representatives who voted for the measure and express disappointment to those who voted against the plan.

About Deborah Goldberg

Deborah Goldberg is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant. She graduated in 2013 from Washington University in St. Louis and is originally from Deerfield, IL where she is a member of Congregation B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim.